Chapter 7

Piercing violet eyes gazed upon a barren field, the once calm forest was gone any semblance of wildlife couldn't be seen for miles. The field was littered with craters and gashes. The trees that were native to the field were either burnt to a crisp or split in half. Amid the field were the countless dead bodies of shinobi, kunoichi, and some samurai. Men and women were showered in kunai and shuriken, some were crushed by earth Jutsu, others were drowned by water, sliced into pieces by wind, burnt to a crisp by fire and electrocuted by lightning. With the number of bodies on the ground in the state that they were in, it was hard to distinguish which village they hailed from. The smell of blood and death permeated the air.

Naruto was there atop a hill that was relatively untouched by the bloodshed. The silvery light from the moon casting it's light upon the area. Naruto was applying first aid to a wounded Uzumaki kunoichi.

"The moon is so pretty right now...don't you think?" she voiced weakly both of them gazing up at it. A shinobi managed to embed a kunai into her thigh. She couldn't travel very fast and the area was still crawling with stragglers.

"Yeah, it is." said Naruto as he helped her onto her feet. "Let's get you somewhere safe." She let out a groan but smiled at him.

"I know it's against regulation for those in ANBU, but do you mind taking your mask off for now? I just want to see the face of the person who saved me." She said softly as she limped with him supporting her.

Naruto thought about it for a moment before he removed it. She looked shocked to see someone as young as him. While it wasn't unusual it was frowned upon to send children and young teens into war. Though that didn't stop any of the villages from doing it. Her voice broke Naruto away from his thoughts.

"You barely look 15 and you're in the ANBU already?" she voiced incredulously a look of disbelief on her face.

At that Naruto just remained silent and continued walking forwards. He had been separated from his team when he came across this platoon being ambushed. He was running low on supplies. That didn't stop him from leaping into the fray and assisting where he could.

They had just made it into an undamaged part of the forest. Continuing to make their way back to safety. They were still moving relatively slowly just so they wouldn't open her wound. Naruto's eyes widened and he picked her up quickly and dashed away. He looked behind them to see a large group of people headed their way.

Naruto set the Kunoichi down onto her feet before turning towards them and putting his mask back on. "Go ahead and fallback, I'll hold them off." Naruto said readying himself for the fight.

"What that's suicide... we'll fight them off together," she said gritting her teeth getting into a battle-ready stance.

"Our allies aren't very far behind us, run as fast as you can." Naruto glanced at her and she could see the sadness in his eyes through the holes in his mask. "I've let enough of my comrades die tonight, I won't let them past me now go."

"I'll bring back reinforcements just hold out until then." she voiced hesitantly. Turning around and running as fast as her leg would let her towards safety.

"Don't let her escape..." voiced what Naruto assumed was the leader of the group. Two of the men had tried rushing past Naruto. Channeling his raiton chakra to his kunai he dashed towards them. They hadn't even seen him move when both of them fell towards the ground a gaping hole in both of their chests.

"Your fight is with me."

"This bastard get him!" voiced one of the many careless men charging towards Naruto. One of them was blindly swiping at him with his katana. Naruto dodged the strikes with incredible skill and delivered a bone-crushing kick to the man's chest sending him flying into a tree. Dashing towards a tree to ensure he wouldn't be encircled he threw half a dozen shuriken towards one of the groups. Flying through some hand seals with incredible speed.

'Ninpo: Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu)'

The effect was almost immediate the six shurikens he threw out multiplied into sixty. The unfortunate people who hadn't already moved to dodge were pelted with them causing their death. 'It's going to be a long night.' Thought Naruto wearily, he had been fighting all week with little rest.

Channeling chakra throughout his body to enhance his physical abilities even more. Launching himself towards the closest hostiles. Blitzing at them at such speeds that he appeared to be a blur to the inexperienced shinobi. Quickly dispatching one of them by lodging a kunai deeply into a kunoichis' chest, a look of utter shock on her face before her eyes rolled into the back of her skull.

"You bastard!" yelled the shinobi closest to him. A look of distraught on his face.

Not giving the man time to retaliate or think, Naruto dashed towards him channeling raiton chakra to his right hand and grabbing the man directing the burst of chakra through the man. Killing him instantly.

He could sympathize with him, having someone close to your heart killed in front of you. He would've gone mad with anger and sorrow. Not wanting to think about it any longer, and just letting instinct take over for the fight.

Time Skip

1 hour

After the adrenaline had worn off. Naruto stood there alone surrounded by the people he had just killed. The distinct smell of charred skin and burnt hair filling his nostrils. The forest floor looked like it was dyed red with the amount of blood on it.

Naruto just stood there extremely silent. Blood was leaking down his arm, but he ignored the injury and continued to stare at the carnage he had wrought upon these people. They hadn't done anything wrong to him, just like him, they were following orders.

"Hurry it's just over here...good kami." voiced the kunoichi Naruto had protected.

The reinforcements had to walk over the many bodies that littered the ground. Some of them had slipped in the frequent puddles of blood that were scattered about.

"There must be at least 30 bodies here." voiced a chūnin awe and fear as he looked around.

'That kid did all this by himself?' she thought in worry, she couldn't see him anywhere.

As they continued forwards they stumbled upon on the Raijin masked ANBU. The clothing on his upper chest was in tatters completely missing both sleeves on his black long-sleeve shirt, his vest had a slash across it. Indicating someone had almost seriously injured him, other than that he looked fine. Other than the fact he was covered in blood.

"Wow with people like you on our side we'll win this front over in no time!" voiced a rather optimistic shinobi from Konoha.

For once Naruto was glad he was wearing his mask. He couldn't stand to look at any of them in the eye. Being praised for his skill in killing was one thing he could go without. Ignoring them he took his canteen and washed off his injured arm.

"Do any of you have sterile bandages and alcohol?" Naruto inquired his voice devoid of any emotion. The Uzumaki kunoichi he had protected limped up to him, a sad look on her face.

"I'm a medic so I'll handle patching you up as thanks." a faint smile on her face as she got to work.

Not a minute later a team of ANBU arrived at the area. Not at all perturbed by the rather bloody scenery.

"Raijin we're moving out to assist in a major battle taking place nearby." voiced the leader of the group. The sounds of battle could be heard in the distance. As the man finished saying this, the female medic finished patching up his arm. Naruto gave a small nod of acknowledgment to his superior.

"Thank you" whispered Naruto to the Uzushiogakure kunoichi. With that, the ANBU team including him dashed away to the next battle.

"..ruto!"

"Naruto!"

Suddenly opening his eyes, he awoke from the vivid dream. Only to find himself in a setting opposite of the memory he dreamt of. There wasn't any raging battle or cries of people dying. Just the warm and welcoming atmosphere. It had been a month since he and Mayumi-Sensei had been assigned the mission. It didn't feel like a mission at all if he was honest with himself.

It was a much-welcomed change. From living such a spartan lifestyle for the past three years to being home with his family. It also gave him more time to work on his fūinjutsu as well as refining and creating personal ninjutsu.

Feeling something in his grasp he looked beside him. Akane was staring at him with a sad look in her eyes. Realizing he had a firm grasp around her wrist, he let her go while muttering an apology.

"I knew you seemed too normal." she had said sadly. Meeting her troubled gaze Naruto sighed.

Naruto looked down for a second as he thought of the atrocities he had taken part in. War was war, orders were orders and a shinobi is but a tool to his superior. Beginning to grit his teeth and clenching his fists. Realizing his emotions and thought were taking a dark turn, he began to try to relax.

"Well, it's not like you didn't warn me." Naruto looked towards Akane with a smile on his face. "You said we were going to the beach yesterday right?" he said trying to change the subject from the matter at hand.

"Yes...we'll talk about this later though." Akane promised. At this Naruto exhaled a deep breath and got ready for the day.

Two Hours Later

Naruto downed some more ice-cold water as he lamented the heat. He was sat under an umbrella wearing swimming trunks and a long-sleeve shirt. Though he was regretting wearing such a garment.

"Naruto you know it's hot so why are you wearing that" Said Kushina as she grabbed Naruto's arm and tried to pull him along with her. "Let's go swimming."

That was probably one of Naruto's few weaknesses. He was never able to deny Kushina anything. Removing the shirt, Kushina bore witness to Naruto's body. Sure he was always fit but now he was just a walking mass of muscle. There probably wasn't an ounce of fat on him.

"Let me put some sunscreen on you, nobody likes sunburn ''ttbane." Naruto chuckled at the underhanded method.

Though Kushina gasped attracting the attention of Akane who was taking care of Misaki. They both saw the intricate markings along his back. Though what caught Akane's eye was the crimson whirlpool insignia on his left shoulder.

"Naruto what is this?" Kushina was completely mesmerized by the intricate design as she traced her fingers along some of the lines, it was fūinjutsu that much she could tell.

"It isn't finished just yet, I'll tell you what it is when it's done though." Naruto looked back at her as she began applying the sunscreen. The beach was relatively empty, it was a nice day too. Besides the heat.

Kushina and Naruto, both walked towards the water to swim in the cool ocean. He couldn't help but admire her beauty once more. She was probably one of the most wanted bachelorettes in all of Uzushio. Thank god there weren't many people on the beach otherwise he'd have to pry their eyes out for looking at her.

Her bathing suit wasn't provocative by any means. It was just her natural beauty and budding body. If any bastard looked at her the wrong way, he wouldn't hesitate to beat them into a bloody pulp. Naruto didn't want to rush things so he just settled for admiring her beauty. A gentle ocean breeze cooled their bodies. They were about waist-deep into the ocean now just enjoying themselves.

"Hey, Naruto have you ever been off of Uzushio before?" Kushina said her beautiful fiery red hair flowing in the breeze. A curious grin on her alluring face.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?" he asked her bobbed in the cooling water.

Naruto stared at the young beautiful redhead he had come to love. "I have. None of the nicer places though." he began grimly. "I won't lie to you Kushina. The only thing I've found out there are enemies."

"Oh...We'll just have to go out there together and have fun." Said Kushina with a grin trying to uplift his grim mood. She just stared at the handsome man she had loved.

"I have something for you when we get back to the beach." Naruto said matching her grin. Kushina always could make Naruto feel better no matter what was happening.

With Akane on the beach

A gentle breeze cooled Akane and Misaki as they sat under an umbrella.

Akane didn't know how to feel. The boy she had raised as one of her own and loved him just like her other children. The crimson whirlpool on his armed signified he was or still is part of the ANBU for Uzushio. She knew he was strong but to be affiliated with such an organization at his age.

Being apart of the ANBU meant he was already an A-ranked shinobi. She was proud when he had excelled in the shinobi arts, yet she was also scared. She had seen war first hand, she'd lost loved ones too. War leaves its scar on anyone who takes a part on it.

He'd acted normal so he wouldn't worry anyone. Though Akane had talked to Kushina years ago about what to expect. Naruto was never very good at expressing his feelings. She knew Naruto had a deep fear of losing them. It's probably what drove him to such lengths. He was probably one of the most stubborn people she knew if he said he was going to do something. You could count on him to never go back on his word.

Kushina and Naruto were practically attached to the hip since the time they had met. Before they knew years had passed and the two had a better love life than most of her friends. Just the thought of the two brought a smile to her face. She would have to give them the talk soon with the way they looked at each other. She was still too damn young to have little kids calling her Baa-chan.

Sudden voices broke her out of her stupor as she looked towards the duo responsible for all the racket. They both had the brightest smiles on their faces as they swam in the ocean together. Naruto didn't look troubled at all right now. His mental fortitude as a child stunned her, so now that he was reaching adolescence. She just needed to trust him

Uzushiogakure Barracks

Mayumi was pacing back and forth in her room. She had a gut feeling that something bad was going to happen soon. Throughout the years she had learned to trust her instincts years ago. While Naruto was continuing their mission she was sure he had some clones watching over them.

Uzushiogakure was surrounded by the whirlpools that the village was named after. It had protected their home and clan for generations. So why did she feel like something incredibly terrible was going to happen? Uzushio had already bunkered down when Kumogakure and Kirigakure had joined the war.

Trusting in her gut feeling. Mayumi made her way to the armory. There she grabbed numerous pouches of kunai and shuriken. Stocking up on extra exploding notes, smoke bombs, flash bombs, and food pills. She bought some recently forged katana's two of them be exact. Sealing all of it into a scroll and look around. People were looking at her like she was crazy for grabbing so many weapons. Not like she cared, the reason she had so much was to share some with Naruto and her team. Should the need arise.

Back with Naruto

Sitting on a blanket underneath a tree that provided plenty of shade from the blistering sun. After they were done at the beach and wanted to eat the lunch Akane had prepared for the four of them. Misaki was munching on the sandwiches, she was still relatively silent around Naruto. The cooling breeze refreshing all of them.

"So Naruto are you going to tell us what that fūinjutsu on your back is?" Akane asked with a curious expression while Kushina nodded wanting to know aswell. It wasn't every day you saw fūinjutsu like that.

"It's part of a jutsu I've been working on." Naruto replied a smug look on his face as he sipped on some invigorating cold tea.

"You know I think this is the only time I've seen you with that face. Other than the time you kissed me a month ago." Kushina had blurted out. A crimson blush formed on her face. Her mother was going to have a field day with that now. Waiting for the teasing response she took her eyes of the ground and looked at Akane. She was surprisingly silent.

"No sex until you're both sixteen." Akane declared. This made both Naruto and Kushina blush even more and face fault. "Anyhow what does this Jutsu you're developing do?"

Naruto groaned as he picked himself up off of the ground. Meeting Kushinas' gaze for just a moment, her face was still crimson red and she quickly averted her eyes. While they were dating, Naruto could say that it was way too early to be thinking about that. They had both just reached adolescence, not to mention he had only been back a month!

"The fūinjutsu along my back is connected to my chakra system. Which is connected to these." said Naruto holding up the three-pronged kunai Kushina had gifted him. On the handle of the kunai was a compressed version of the array on Narutos' back.

"I haven't tested it out just yet. If it works the way I want it to though, it'll allow me to teleport to areas marked with my sealing formula." Naruto dropped the bomb on them. They both stared at him in disbelief.

'If he wasn't becoming an S-ranked Ninja in the future he's become one now. Being able to teleport wherever his sealing formula is could change the tide of war with his skill.' were Akane's thoughts.

"That's incredible dattebane." said Kushina. If he could teleport that means he could go wherever he wanted, as long as his sealing formula was there. "Wait what if you teleport to somewhere you can't see. How would that work?"

"Like I said if it works the way I want it. I can determine where I teleport so that's not a problem...if it works right that is." Naruto muttered out the last part.

"Well you'll never know if you don't try it." said Akane with a proud smile.

Naruto nodded and threw one of his marked kunai out to the other side of the clearing. Feeling the connection from his sealing array on the kunai to his chakra system. Naruto teleported there assuming everything was working correctly. He had almost impacted with the tree the kunai had landed close too. It was like his situational awareness when he teleported was all but gone and he was in a sense blind.

"So it still has some work to do." he murmured to himself. Walking back towards the astonished redheads.

"Well, you did teleport. The question is did it work the way you wanted?" voiced Akane the cool breeze blowing through her luscious red hair flowing in the wind.

"Not quite, it still has some use before I implement it into any battles. Thought it should work in the sense of just teleporting around." said Naruto with a frown on his face.

"It's still pretty amazing don't be so bummed out ''ttbane." said Kushina trying to cheer him up. He probably worked hard on it. Nobody liked when things didn't go as planned.

"I want to give you three the sealing formula on your body. If anything happens I'll be there in an instant." Naruto said his pure violet eyes staring at them.

"You don't have to ask me, just apply the formula to my neck." Kushina said her bluish-violet eyes staring at him full with love. She tilted her neck and moved her hair to the side so he could apply his formula. Naruto just had to touch her to apply it.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to be safe." said Akane mimicking what Kushina was doing. He quickly applied the formula to both Akane and Misaki.

Unknown location

An exceedingly large camp was bustling with activity as people were attending to their duties assigned to them. The screams of a man could be heard but everyone just continued what they were doing. It was a military camp where they had been keeping prisoners. In one of the many tents was this torture taking place.

Inside this gruesome tent was a male with fiery red hair a hitai-ate from Uzushiogakure showing which village he owed allegiance to. They had captured him weeks ago after an informant gave away his position in fire country. They had sent multiple teams of their finest and they captured him.

The physically and mentally tortured the man but he wouldn't break. It just goes to show how much a monster the Uzumaki vitality was any normal man or woman would've broken by now. They had been trying to extract information from him as to how to get past the whirlpools his village was renowned for.

The man had finally stopped screaming. His body dropped like a bag of rocks. Their torture methods were ineffective so they opted to extract the information through his memories. Though that had killed him, no matter they got the information they were after. The man responsible for the Uzumaki shinobi's death ran out of the tent to go and report to his superior.

Dashing through the crowded camp to the largest tent. When he got there he quickly made his way to where his leader was sat and bowed on his knee.

"Raikage-sama we've finally extracted the information required to breach Uzushiogakure's primary defense." said the man to the second Raikage.

"Well isn't that fantastic, be sure to relay this to Kiri if they haven't gotten any information themselves. I'd like to work with them to be rid of the pest known as the Uzumaki clan." the Raikage had a stern look on his face. The Uzumaki had been a pain during the last war where they assisted Konoha in asserting it's dominance. "Also reward this informant who gave us this spectacular information." he said with a smile as he gave the man a hefty sum of ryō.

The tokubetsu jōnin responsible for the torture of the Uzushiogakure shinobi shivered. The informant was almost like a robot, he couldn't feel any emotion in the person's voice and they had a smile that was unsettling to him. Even more so than the Ninja from Kirigakure who filed their teeth after sharks.

Chapter End

Huge shoutout to Time Parad0x once again. He's been helping me with ideas for the last couple of chapters. He's a great guy so please check out his profile and give it a follow.

Thank you all for the wonderful reviews. Knowing that most of you enjoyed it always makes me happy and makes me want to continue writing. Anyhow leave a review if you liked or disliked anything. Also if any of you have ideas please do pm me, it's always fun talking to my readers.

Until next time

-Kiege